I thought that wine bottles were always lying down on the counters and shelves of bars and bistros, and indeed in shops, to be aesthetically pleasing. But no! The reason is that by lying down the wine conserves all its quality because the precious nectar remains in contact with the stopper. And through being in […]

I thought that wine bottles were always lying down on the counters and shelves of bars and bistros, and indeed in shops, to be aesthetically pleasing.

But no!

The reason is that by lying down the wine conserves all its quality because the precious nectar remains in contact with the stopper.

And through being in contact with the stopper, the wine will not dry out.

Of course, the stopper must be of cork.

Storing a bottle upright will do terrible things to the wine.

It will dry out the wine and thus not only will the wine lose its bouquet but also its colour. And after some years of standing up, you may even find some residue at the bottom of the bottle.

However, sparking wine and champagne need not lie down in storage. This is because of the gas in the bottles which keeps the nectar humified.

Do I hear you run to where you keep your bottles of wine to quickly lie them down as if they are new-born babies!